Vandals destroy 4WD kiosk days after installation

A new four-wheel-drive kiosk has been destroyed by vandals just days after it was installed in Lennox Head.

The kiosk was installed on Wednesday afternoon and the vandals smashed it with an axe on Thursday night.

The Ballina Shire Council said the vandals may have thought it was a paid parking machine.

The kiosk was meant to act as a permit dispenser so four-wheel-drivers could gain access to Seven Mile Beach.

The council's Public and Environmental Health Manager, Kerri Watts, said investigations are continuing.

"There was a little bit of concern out there when it was obviously going in that it may have been paid parking in that area because the new council car park is due for completion soon and to be opened but unfortunately, it's not to do with paid parking," she said.

"It's to assist the community being able to access their four-wheel-drive permits on the way to the access point."

It will cost $12,000 to replace the kiosk which was meant to go live next week.

Ms Watts said the council won't give up on the permit-dispensing machine because it is in an ideal spot for access to the beach.

She said surveillance will be improved to deter further vandalism.

"What we will do, is we will go back and reassess the situation," she said.

"It already had security fencing around it because it hadn't gone live.

"What we are looking at doing, is we will be installing a 24 hour surveillance camera on that location so if this does happen again we may be able to get some additional details to help us if vandalism does occur."

Victoria's laws for disclosing political donations have long been criticised as among the weakest in the nation, but Premier Daniel Andrews says his proposed reforms will make the state's donations laws "the strictest donation laws in the country".